Sleeping bag

ABSTRACT

A sleeping bag ( 10 ) includes baffles ( 20 ) cut according to a curved pattern in order to enhance the loft of the canopy of the sleeping bag, thereby improving the thermal performance of the sleeping bag.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to sleeping bags, and particularly to sleepingbags which utilise down and/or feathers and/or other bulk material forinsulation.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is well known to include baffles extending between the inner skin ofthe bag and the outer skin of the bag for the purpose of preventingunwanted migration of the insulating material. The present inventionprovides a novel baffle construction which improves the loft and thermalperformance of the sleeping bag.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The present invention provides a sleeping bag including bafflesaccording to the following claims. Preferred features of the inventionwill be apparent from the dependant claims and from the followingdescription of the preferred embodiment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described in a non-limiting manner withrespect to preferred embodiments in which:

FIG. 1 is perspective view of a sleeping bag;

FIG. 2 is a sectioned view along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectioned view along line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a view of a pair of prior art baffles for the canopy and floorrespectively;

FIG. 5 is a view of a first embodiment of a pair of baffles for thecanopy and floor respectively according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a view of a second embodiment of a pair of baffles for thecanopy and floor respectively according to the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a view of a third embodiment of a pair of baffles for thecanopy and floor respectively according to the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a view of a fourth embodiment of a pair of baffles for thecanopy and floor respectively according to the present invention; and

FIG. 9 is a view of a fifth embodiment of a pair of baffles for thecanopy and floor respectively according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

With reference firstly to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a down sleepingbag 10. The sleeping bag 10 has a longitudinal axis A-A and is formed inthe usual manner from an outer skin 12 and an inner skin 14. Thesleeping bag 10 has a lateral zipper 16 provided to facilitate entry to,and exit from, the sleeping bag 10.

Referring now to FIG. 2, there is shown a sectional view taken alongline 2-2 of FIG. 1. In the sectional view shown in FIG. 2, it wouldreadily seen that the sleeping bag combines an upper canopy portion 11,which in use is above the user, and a lower floor portion 13, which inuse is below the user. Down 15 is provided intermediate inner skin 14and outer skin 12 in the usual manner. A flap 18 is provided on theupper canopy portion 11 in order to limit the loss of body heat throughthe non-insulated area at and adjacent to zipper 16.

Turning now to FIG. 3, there is shown a sectional view taken along line3-3 of FIG. 1. It will be appreciated that line 3-3 is coincident with atransverse baffle provided in the sleeping bag. It will be noted thatthere is an upper baffle 20 provided in the canopy portion of thesleeping bag and a lower baffle 22 provided in the floor portion 13 ofthe sleeping bag. The upper baffle 20 is stitched to the lower baffle 22at the left hand side as shown in FIG. 3.

In the prior art, the upper baffle 20 and lower baffle 22 were both cutaccording to a straight pattern. An example of the prior art straightcut baffles is shown in FIG. 4. Typically these baffles are formed froma mesh material. It should be noted at this stage that, whilst thestraight baffles of the prior art are cut according to a straightpattern as shown in FIG. 4, they nonetheless adopt a deformed or curvedshape when actually in place within the sleeping bag. Hence, adistinction is drawn between the baffles being curved when in situ, andbaffles which are curved from the outset when cut according to a curvedpattern.

With reference now to FIG. 5 to FIG. 9, there are shown multipleembodiments of baffles cut in a curved manner according to the presentinvention. In each of FIGS. 5 to 9 the lower baffle 22 is straight cutas per the lower baffle of the prior art. However, in alternativeembodiments (not illustrated), the lower baffle 22 could also be cutaccording to a curved pattern.

With reference firstly to FIG. 5, there is shown the baffle 20 which iscut according to a radial arc.

With reference to FIG. 6, the upper baffle 20 is cut according to aradial arc and the width of the baffle varies along its length with thepoint of maximum width midway along the length of upper baffle 20.

With reference to FIG. 7, there is shown an upper baffle 20 having aconsistent width, but being of substantially U-shaped configuration.

With reference to FIG. 8, there is shown another U-shaped upper baffle20, although in this case the upper baffle varies in width along itslength.

Finally, with reference to FIG. 9, the upper baffle 20 is cut accordingto several straight segments, with each straight segment being angularlyoff set with respect to a neighbouring straight segment.

As mentioned above, both the upper and lower baffles are typicallyformed from a mesh-like material which has limited structural strength.Notwithstanding this limited structural strength, it has beensurprisingly found that upper baffles formed according to the presentinvention result in the canopy portion of the sleeping bag havingadditional loft and hence additional thermal performance.

Whilst the invention has been described with reference to specificexamples, it will of course be appreciated that many differentconfigurations on baffle will fall within the scope of the presentinvention.

1. A sleeping bag having a longitudinal axis, an upper canopy portion,and a lower floor portion, the sleeping bag comprising an inner skin andan outer skin, insulating material being located intermediate the innerand outer skins of at least the canopy portion, transverse bafflesextending between the inner and outer skins of the canopy portion forinhibiting migration of the insulating material in the canopy portion,characterised in that the transverse baffles are cut from fabricaccording to a curved pattern.
 2. A sleeping bag as claimed in claim 1,wherein the curved pattern is a radial arc.
 3. A sleeping bag as claimedin claim 2, wherein the width of the curved pattern varies along itslength.
 4. A sleeping bag as claimed in claim 1, wherein the curvedpattern is substantially U-shaped.
 5. A sleeping bag as claimed in claim4, wherein the width of the curved pattern varies along its length.
 6. Asleeping bag as claimed in claim 1, wherein the curved pattern includesmultiple straight sections, with each section being angularly offsetwith respect to a neighbouring straight section.
 7. A sleeping bag asclaimed in any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein the sleeping bag includestransverse baffles in the floor portion, and where the transversebaffles in the floor portion are shorter than the corresponding bafflesin the canopy portion.